By John C. Drachman, Guest Contributor

To Braden Hill successful pre-retirement planning shouldn’t depend on a person’s political viewpoint.

“Still, the average person should know what Congress is contemplating,” he said, “to see how it might change you and your children’s savings and spending habits.”

Mr. Hill, the principal of Pinnacle Hills Financial Services, LLC, pointed recently to the testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, the New School of Social Research professor who told a congressional committee in 2008 “that it’s time to reinvent the 401(k).” Ms. Ghilarducci advocated for a government-guaranteed alternative consisting of blue-chip stocks and corporate and Treasury bonds.

“The 401(k) is a failure,” Ms. Ghilarducci had said, “I want to spend our nation’s dollars for better retirement.”

That comment put other ideas in circulation, including one from Representative John Boehner, Ohio, who recently suggested increasing the retirement age to 70 for people at least 20 years from retirement.

“Retirement shortfalls don’t care who you voted for,” Mr. Hill said, “That’s why I want to raise our collective consciousness about ‘pre-retirement planning.’”

“Whether you are a liberal, conservative or moderate, planning for retirement is just plain getting harder,” the Rogers, Arkansas advisor added.

To make the case for better pre-retirement planning, Mr. Hill contracted recently with the Advisolocity social media agency to assist him in building out his thought leadership initiative.

To that end, Advisolocity will develop a series of topical posts and build a blog for Mr. Hill to integrate with his current web site. Additionally, Mr. Hill and his team will provide a forum for information and advice focusing on retirement challenges.

“There are many solutions out there that pre-retirees and investors may not know about,” he continued.

One example he concluded, is the in-service non-hardship withdrawals that are available to employees experiencing a financial pinch — and don’t know what to do.